Between Floors
by Mikazukino Hikari
Summary: Sakura never did like elevators. Especially when they stop and leave her trapped with the one man who never had a nice thing to say to her...


She really didn't like elevators. She couldn't precisely say why but it probably had something to do with being shoved up against a bunch of complete strangers in a small confined space with annoying muzak playing over a speaker all while their lives were being held up by a series of not particularly thick cables… Not that she was paranoid or disliked strangers, the opposite really – she had a friendly personality. It was probably the small space.

Or maybe it was the pesky fact that she always seemed to get stuck in the elevator with HIM on the way down.

If it wasn't for the totally-not-paranoid thing, she would almost say that he did it on purpose. It wasn't like she left work at the same time everyday, rather she frequently worked late but could sometimes even leave early depending on her ever changing schedule. Nor did she even work on the same floor everyday since she split her time between the 50th where she did her work for the PR department and the Penthouse up on the 75th where she modeled and did photo shoots for the clothing line.

Still, somehow, four days out of five, they rode the elevator down together.

Which, really, might not have been so bad, if it weren't for the part that she couldn't stand him. Which was unusual, because she really got along with everyone, she was in PR - it was her job as well as her personality – but she felt safe in the knowledge that he started it. They had only just met when she had tripped slightly on a cord laying on the floor on the way to the monthly interdepartmental meeting. He'd watched her, staring for almost a full minute after she had righted herself a few steps from him. Then he'd rolled his eyes and called her a clumsy airhead.

After the meeting, she'd heard him remark about finally being able to get away from the vacuous kiss-ass personality of the PR department. He'd even smirked at her to let her know he'd wanted her to hear him.

It had only gotten worse from there. They could hardly see each other without exchanging insults. The ride on the elevator everyday was the longest minute of her life. At times, it felt like hours…which was a scary thought: being forced to be in an elevator with Li Syaoran for hours….

**7:42 pm, 70th floor:**

She sighed internally as the doors opened to reveal a scruffy head of chocolate hair bent over an open file. He stepped onto the elevator without looking up and settled into the opposite corner from her as the doors closed. For a moment, she dared to hope that their ride down might just pass without comment.

"Well if it isn't the queen of the superficial."

Or not.

"Greetings, O King of the Bottom Line."

"My attention to the bottom line keeps you in your ridiculous shoes."

"So says the world's only living heart donor."

She had the satisfaction of hearing his portfolio close with a snap. She turned to smile in the face of his glare.

"Listen, you little-."

He was cut off as the elevator jerked to a stop, metal groaning loudly. Sakura lost her balance and stumbled backward, hitting her head on the rear wall and sinking to her knees.

"You alright?"

Blinking, she looked up at Li who was frowning down at her. She nodded, dazed. "Yeah. Why don't you call for help…please."

"Doing it." He pressed the emergency call button. After a few moments a muffled hello came through the speaker.

"Yeah, we are stuck. Can you get us out?"

"Li-san, umm, I'm sorry, sir. It appears that there is a wide scale power outage. Phones are down. We have a back up generator that is keeping our lights and intercoms up, but that's about all it does. My apologies, sir."

Li sighed. "I understand. Keep us updated."

"Yes, sir. Is anyone with you?"

"Just Kinomoto-san."

"Thank you sir. I will let Daidouji-san know."

He turned to look down at her before sighing and sliding into the opposite corner. "Great. I'm stuck in here for who knows how long with you."

Sakura glared at him. "Thanks for that."

He merely glanced at her before opening his portfolio and turning to read once more. She sighed and pulled out a book. It was going to be a long night.

**8:22 pm, between the 32nd and 31st floors:**

A rustling sound drew his attention and he looked up to see her rummaging around in her ridiculously large bag. After a moment, she pulled out a bottle of water and set it beside her, a few seconds after that she pulled out a bottle of paracetemol and shook out a couple of pills. As she lifted them to her mouth, she glanced at him, finally noticing his perusal.

"What?" she asked, hand still halfway to her mouth.

He sighed and looked down at his papers again, scribbling a note. "You women amaze me with those ridiculously large bags you call purses."

"You are just jealous because you have no excuse to carry everything you need with you."

"Heh."

Her eyes lit with mirth. "Or, I don't know. You could finally admit what everyone knows and then you could."

He looked up at her sharply. "Admit to what?"

"Well…you certainly aren't interested in women…."

"I'm not gay!"

"Yeah, sure…just keep the denial…," she laughed as she chucked the bottle of pills back in her bag.

He glared at her furiously, but seemed unable to reply. After a moment, he gave up and went back to his work.

Mentally, Sakura gave herself another tally on her internal scorecard.

**9:01pm:**

"What are you looking for now, the Holy Grail?"

"That's in my other bag," she returned, as she pulled out a bag of grapes and a sandwich.

He stared at her incredulously. "Do you EXPECT to get trapped in an elevator when you get up in the morning?"

She looked at him strangely. "I skipped lunch." She eyed him for a second before reaching into her bag and throwing a box of chocolate balls at him. "Stop staring at my food."

Startled, he looked down at the chocolate and grumbled a thanks.

They sat in silence while she at her sandwich. When she finished, she moved onto her grapes, watching him as he penciled furiously in his little book. She drew a grape out of her bag, ready to pop it in her mouth before stopping short. A smile grew on her lips as she contemplated the small round object. Moments later, it was bouncing neatly off the middle of Li's head.

He looked up and glared at her. "Real mature."

"Yep!" She grinned before throwing another one. It bounced off his forehead nicely.

He growled before picking up and throwing it at her. "Child."

She caught it and threw it back. "Workaholic."

Glaring, he threw one of the small chocolate balls at her. "Ditz."

"Grumpy old man."

Throw.

"I'm not old, you airhead."

Toss.

"Twenty-six going on fifty."

"Twenty-five going on four."

"Wrinkle faced moron."

"Skinny little idiot."

**Five minutes later…**

Sakura looked around at the mess on the floor. "You know, we are going to have to clean this up."

"Heh. Let the cleaning crew do it. I pay them enough."

"You mean Sonomi-san does."

"I sign the checks."

"There's a scary thought."

**9:57pm:**

Her head was killing her, throbbing where she'd hit it earlier. Sakura was beginning to worry about it when she heard Li sigh loudly and start putting his things down beside him. She watched as he stood up and took his jacket off.

"Wow."

"What?" he grunted.

"I thought that was sewn on. Never came off or something."

He glared down at her before smirking. "Surprised you still have your coat on. You seem to love wearing skimpy outfits."

She sighed mentally. It was precisely to ward off such comments that she hadn't taken off her heavy overcoat, despite the growing heat. With a sniff, she stood and unbuttoned her coat, letting it slide down her arms before folding it over her arms.

"Ha, knew it." He stared blatantly at her, his look bordering on contemptuous as he took in her outfit.

She felt embarrassed for the first time in many years of wearing Tomoyo's creations. It was strapless, leaving her shoulders bare, designed to look like the fabric was held in place by only a twist of cloth. Even her legs seemed bare as the skirt fluttered around her mid-thigh.

"Walking around like a tramp."

"Hey," she shouted. "These outfits make money! If it wasn't for me wearing them, this company wouldn't be making half the money it does!"

"Ha!," he growled as he stepped closer to her. "All you do is preen and pose all day! I'm the one who takes care of the money here!"

"And if it weren't for me 'preening and posing' and kissing up to buyers we wouldn't have a clothes line that makes millions every year and you wouldn't have all that money to manage!"

"Oh, yeah, cause it's so hard to flirt all day!"

She glared at him. "You know, I don't like you, Li. From day one, you have been horrible to me before I even SPOKE to you. Why? What gives?"

"It's those ridiculous outfits that you wear!!"

"What difference does it make to you what I wear or how much skin I show? You are not my brother!"

"Because the only one who should be able to see that much of your skin is ME!" he screamed.

Before she could fully register what he said, much less think of a comeback, he backed her into a wall and covered her mouth with his own. For a moment, she was still, but only a moment. In an instant, she buried her fingers into his hair. He moaned, running his hands down her neck to her back. She couldn't think beyond the feel of those hands and the sensual way he was kissing her. Distantly, in the back of her mind, a voice was arguing that she was supposed to hate this guy not being on the receiving end of a very fabulous kissing technique.

The majority of her mind, though, tied up the other part, gagged it and locked it in a trunk to be found latter when logic was a good idea. It managed to break loose however when she felt his fingers in her hair and winced from the sharp pain. She tore her mouth from his, panting heavily and tried to ignore the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Kinomoto, you're bleeding." She looked into his eyes, which were frowning (in concern for once) before coming to the sudden and somewhat startling realization that some how she'd manage to wrap her legs around his waist. He didn't give her the time to blush before he wrapped his arms around her waist and stepped away from the wall. Her feet had barely touched the ground before he had pulled her to the floor so she was sitting in his lap, facing away from him.

"Little idiot, why didn't you tell me you'd hit your head when the elevator stopped?" he growled as he tenderly checked the area.

"I –I didn't want you to think I was a baby." She was quiet for a moment while he wet a handkerchief with water and dabbed at the blood on her scalp. "What did you mean by being the only one who should be able to see me dressed like this?"

She felt him stiffen and glanced over her shoulder in time to see a furious blush before he bent his head. His blush ignited one on her own cheeks and she looked forward again, waiting to hear his answer.

"You know, I'd seen you before that meeting."

"Huh?"

She felt him shift and the sudden press of his forehead on her neck. His breath tickled her back as he spoke, raising goose bumps on her spine.

"I mean, everyone has seen you. Your face is everywhere. Your beautiful green eyes grinning at me from magazines and signs. You started modeling pretty young so I'd memorized your face and those beautiful eyes by the time I'd come to work here. By then, I'd already wondered what it would be like for you to look at me with those smiling eyes."

"Really? But, then…why…?"

He sighed, causing a shiver to run down her spine. He reached up and pulled a strand of her hair between two fingers. "The first time I saw you, you were laughing and joking with Hiiragizawa. You were so openly affectionate with him that I couldn't help but feel jealous. After that, I kept hearing the things men say around the building. All of them wanted you but none of them knew if you were interested. You were so open and friendly to everyone. You were like the sun and showered everyone with your joy equally."

She blushed, never having known the things that people said about her. Did they really all want her like that? Did HE…?

"But then, the longer I worked here, the more relaxed they became with their remarks. More and more often, I would hear someone comment on how nice your legs were, how creamy your skin looked. They picked apart every good feature you have, which seemed to be every bit of you. And you, you let them look!"

She turned to look at him to find a frown furrowing his brow. "I…," she started but was quickly cut off.

"By the time you were promoted to head of PR, I was so frustrated by the fact that everyone was ogling you and the fact that you didn't seem to mind and that you were so damn NICE to EVERYONE…I just sort of, uh, well." He coughed. "My cousin says I lack people skills."

Sakura laughed. "Tell me about it!" She leaned in, covering one side of her mouth with her hand, as if whispering a secret. "You know, I just wear what Tomoyo tells me to wear. I never really cared what clothes I wore and she started in on me at a very young age. But, honestly, some of the things she makes me," she confided, fingering the dress she was currently wearing, "they are down right embarrassing."

He looked up at her red face and smirked. "Really?'

"Yes!" she replied vehemently. "And she started when I was ten! Ten years old, can you imagine?" Sakura closed her eyes as if remembering horrific events. After a moment, she cracked them open and peeked a look at him. "So, um, this entire time you didn't hate me?"

He flushed. "No. I…um…I…think…I fell in love…with you…the first time I saw your ad…really."

She grinned. "Good."

He jerked his head back, clearly surprised. "Huh?"

"'Cause I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you. Right before you called me an airhead."

The blush on his skin grew darker but that didn't stop him from grinning and pulling her in for another kiss. Their kiss lasted for some time until, once more, he brushed the wound on the back of her head. She broke away with a cry and he returned for cursing her for being stupid enough to ignore a head wound for hours.

"Honestly, Li-san, I'm not going to pass out from blood loss!"

"Call me Syaoran and, dammit, stay still while I look at your head."

"Only if you call me Sakura!"

"Fine! Sakura, stop moving!"

**10: 48pm, Ground Floor:**

The normally composed Daidouji Tomoyo was pacing with worry in front of the line of elevators on the ground floor of her mother's corporate headquarters. The power had returned to the building minutes before and while the electrical and maintenance staff were working to reboot the systems, she fretted over the situation. Her poor Sakura had been trapped in an elevator with Li for hours.

Tomoyo knew well that the two had feelings for each other but she also knew that Li was, at best, not good with words and could say any number of brash and hurtful things before he got around to telling Sakura how desperately in love with her he was. And Sakura was so easy to hurt….

The elevator sprung to light and she rushed to wait in front of the doors. The seconds passed like an eternity until the doors began to open and she heard the sounds of arguing creep from the first crack.

"No, I will not go to a hospital, Syaoran, there isn't any point. I'll just go home and put some peroxide on it and a good firm bandage. I'll be fine!"

"I don't think so! At the very least, you should come to my place so I can doctor you up properly. I have all the supplies for it at home."

"What, do you cut yourself open on a regular basis?"

"Dammit, no, I don't, but it never hurts to be prepared!"

"You just want an excuse to get me to your apartment!"

"Well…that's true, but it's beside the point! Daidouji! Tell her she needs to see a doctor at the least!"

"Tomoyo, tell him to stop worrying that I'm fine!"

Tomoyo stared at the two, her amethyst eyes twinkling. "I'm glad that the two of you are alright."

"See! She says I'm fine! Honestly, Syaoran, stop worrying! You were better when you were insulting me!"

He growled out something that resembled a negative response before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. After a long moment (and a few mental curses from Tomoyo for forgetting her camera), he released her.

"You are coming to my place. I am going to doctor you up and cook you dinner. That's final."

Sakura blinked, stunned, before nodding. "O-okay."

"Goodnight, Sakura, Li-san."

"Goodnight, Daidouji."

"Night, Tomoyo! Sorry for worrying you!"

"Put your coat back on, it's cold outside!"

"Don't think you can order me around, Li Syaoran! And don't think you'll get your way every time you kiss me!"

"Wanna bet?"

"…Well, you could certainly TRY…."

She watched as the newly formed couple walked to the glass doors of the front entrance and laughed quietly. "Why didn't I think of trapping them in an elevator months ago?"

* * *

I do not own these characters

A/N: Pointless fluff. This is my first in a series of stories I'm writing that are embracing some of the more frequently found cliches in the CCS ff world.

Well...maybe the HP crossover was the first...

More soon!


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